Technical Abstract:
It is estimated that over 2 billion people, mostly women and children in developing countries, suffer from iron deficiency. These deficiencies are due in part to iron uptake inhibitors found in staple foods, which are often of plant origin in developing countries. Phytic acid, a phosphorous storage molecule found in plant seeds, is considered to be the most important iron uptake inhibitor contributing to iron deficiency. Phytic acid strongly binds iron and other positively charged minerals in the small intestines and prevents their absorption. These antinutritional properties make the development and characterization of low phytic acid soybean lines a high priority in agricultural research. To this end, we are using a reverse genetics approach to identify mutations in known phytic acid biosynthesis genes with the hypothesis that these mutations will confer decreased phytic acid levels in soybean seeds. Such low phytic acid soybeans could then be exported to developing countries.